21 March 2013

Federal Member for Hume Angus Taylor has welcomed legislation to deliver fair indexation for war veterans receiving benefits.

Mr Taylor said more than 360 veterans across Hume were receiving the Defence Forces Retirement Benefit (DFRB) or the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefit (DFRDB) and would benefit from this legislation.

“Introduced into Parliament this week, this Bill will mean that DFRB and DFRDB superannuants will have their benefits indexed in line with age and service pensions. It’s essentially bringing them into line with the cost of living,” Mr Taylor said.

“Veterans’ retirement and death benefits were not meeting the increased cost of living veterans were experiencing, in contrast to other superannuants. We’re now indexing those pensions for everyone aged 55 and over from 1 July this year. And as promised, the provisions will also extend to reversionary (widow) pensioners aged 55 and over.

“It’s great news and it’s been a long time coming. Addressing this issue was an article of faith for the Abbott opposition and will now be delivered by the Coalition Government. Labor promised it twice and re-nigged on those promises.

“Many veterans became cynical about this ever happening. But we have introduced this legislation to the House this week and will see this through,” Mr Taylor said.

“War veterans across Hume and their families have waited long enough. This is a group in our society who deserve a lot better than seeing declining standards of living because there has been unfair indexation of their benefits.”